Without explaining why, attorneys for
both sides in the Esbenshade Farms cruelty case
(see: http://www.farmedanimal.net/faw/faw6-15.htm
#2 ) are trying to negotiate a settlement, following
a lengthy hearing on Monday. One charge was dismissed
because it was missing the date of the alleged offense.
The chief executive officer and farm manager of Esbenshade,
one of the largest egg production operations in Pennsylvania,
still face 34 summary counts of animal cruelty, each
carrying a potential fine of $50 to $750 and up to
90 days in prison.

Viewing a surreptitiously made videotape, Ian Duncan,
a recently retired poultry science professor, testified
that it shows too many birds trapped in hazardous
conditions for it to have been fabricated. He also
said that the number of birds who had been dead for
a long time signified that the cages were not examined
regularly. "I've never seen conditions like that
before," he remarked. The defense, which failed
to get the video excluded from the trial in April,
said that Pennsylvania’s animal-cruelty law
cannot be enforced against what it says is a “normal
agricultural operation.” Esbenshade released
a written statement in response to the prosecution’s
testimony, stating: “We always have been and
will continue to be dedicated to food quality, safety,
animal welfare and environmental standards based on
industry science standards.” Any agreement the
attorneys reach will have to be approved by the Judge
Duncan. The case will reconvene before her, probably
in October.

In the U.K., charges will be brought
against two men who were secretly filmed laughing
as they threw birds in the air, hit them with sticks
and kicked them around at the Bernard Matthews processing
plant (see: http://www.farmedanimal.net/faw/faw6-15.htm
#3 ). They face a 6-month prison term and a fine of
£5,000 ($9,545).

Farm Sanctuary has released a report
on U.S. highway accidents involving farmed animals.
Since neither the government or industry reports on
these accidents, the organization drew instead from
media archives, finding that 233 accidents occurred
in a recent six-year period across 44 states. The
report tells the states and companies with the highest
number of accidents. It was submitted with recommendations
to over 40 industry and government officials. Notes
Farm Sanctuary: “It is common for a significant
percentage of the animals involved in transport accidents
to die or be severely injured during the accidents.
However, animals may also be injured in the course
of events that follow the initial accident. Often,
animals who escape from a smashed or damaged trailer
are struck by passing vehicles on the highway. Sometimes
escaped animals are shot and killed to prevent collisions
between the animals and vehicles on the roadway. Unfortunately,
veterinarians and humane society officials are rarely
called to the scene to help the injured animals.”
The organization is calling for a proper reporting
structure and the establishment of protocols to protect
farmed animals during transport. It can be accessed
via: http://www.farmsanctuary.org/campaign/transport_report.htm

Another recently released report, from
the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic
Research Service, explains how the U.S. dairy industry
has evolved since 1980s and the factors that will
continue shaping it in the future. The full report
is available (in .PDF format) at http://tinyurl.com/lzxca

The Environmental Protection Agency
has extended the comment period from Aug. 15th to
Aug. 29th for a proposed rule to revise the 2003 Clean
Water Act regulation for concentrated animal feeding
operations (CAFOs). The revision would require CAFOs
to obtain a permit if they discharge waste or propose
to do so. For CAFOs seeking coverage under a permit,
it would require the submission of nutrient management
plans. The entire proposed rule is available (in .PDF
form) at: http://www.epa.gov/npdes/regulations/cafo_revisedrule.pdf.

In Iowa, CAFO construction reached record highs for
five straight years. In 2005,
203 permits were approved by the Department of Natural
Resources (DNR), most of them for the $12 billion
pig industry, the largest in the nation. A new rule
will allow the director of the DNR greater power to
halt confinement projects that he or she deems to
be environmentally risky. When environmental officials
initially sought such power, the legislature blocked
the effort. Although lawmakers on Tuesday declined
to block the new rule, the Administrative Rules Review
Committee voted to oppose the change, assuring further
debate when lawmakers convene in January.

The Washington Post’s Candy Sagon
examines the confusion that can occur when consumers
attempts to apply environmental, ethical and health
consideration to their food purchases. Using eggs
and salmon as examples, she finds that the answers
of what to buy are often contradictory. [She doesn’t
consider replacing them with non-animal food.] Arthur
Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the
University of Pennsylvania, says everyone needs to
establish a “scale of ethical priorities,”
considering whether taste, cost, the environment,
your health, or animal suffering is most important
to them. The top priority on his list is whether suffering
was involved, followed by environmental impacts and
labor concerns.

A desire to prevent animal suffering
is growing among consumers, as science continually
reveals remarkable information about animal minds,
emotions and feelings. Ethologist Jonathan Balcombe
lauds these revelations as having led to such decisions
as the Chicago City Council’s ban on the sale
of foie gras in city restaurants and Whole Foods Market’s
ban on the sale of live lobsters. In a July 31st opinion
piece in the Salt Lake Tribune, Balcombe, author of
the recently published "Pleasurable Kingdom:
Animals and the Nature of Feeling Good," presents
evidence that “pleasure plays an important role
in how animals experience the world.” He asserts
that: “Because animals can enjoy life, our moral
obligations to them are greater. We may not have an
obligation to provide pleasure to animals, but actively
depriving them of the opportunity to fulfill natural
pleasures - as we do when we cage or kill them - is
another matter.” See also: http://tinyurl.com/fz9lu

People who ate a low-fat vegan diet
did a better job of lowering their blood sugar and
cholesterol, lost more weight, and ended up with better
kidney function than those on a standard American
Diabetes Association diet. This was the finding of
a study by the Physician’s Committee for Responsibility,
published in Diabetes Care, a journal published by
the American Diabetes Association. Participants said
the vegan diet was easier to follow because they did
not have to measure portions or count calories. While
eight dieters dropped off the standard diet, all but
three stayed on the vegan diet.

A study by the Physician’s Committee for Responsibility
found that people who ate a low-fat vegan diet did
a better job lowering their blood sugar and cholesterol,
lost more weight and ended up with better kidney function
than those on a standard American Diabetes Association
diet. In the report, published in Diabetes Care, a
journal published by the American Diabetes Association,
participants said the vegan diet was easier to follow
because they did not have to measure portions or count
calories. While eight dieters dropped off the standard
diet, all but three stayed on the vegan diet. This
news could be helpful to the estimated 18 million
Americans have type-2 diabetes. According to the Mayo
Clinic, some research shows a vegetarian diet makes
your body more responsive to insulin and could reduce
the risk of diabetes-associated complications such
as cardiovascular disease and kidney disease.

In a Penn State study, diabetic mice
were successfully treated with fatty acids which are
predominantly found in dairy products and meat. The
compounds, conjugated linoleic acids (CLA) have also
shown promising results in human trials. They may
show the potential for treating the disease without
synthetic drugs. Researcher Jack Vanden Heuvel cautions
that a diet high in dairy and meat products also presents
problematic substances, such as trans fatty acids.
"Adult-onset diabetes is fast becoming an epidemic
and is largely associated with poor diet and nutrition
and other lifestyle issues," Vanden Heuvel says.
The reason for the increase in diabetes may have to
do with the ratio of so-called "good" and
"bad" fats, with the average American diet
containing too much of the "bad" fats.